Ingrid recently posted a trailer showing some Beasley gameplay and seemed optimistic about the potential for RTS fans, but that got me thinking…who are Microsoft trying to appeal to exactly? Their core Halo fans are rip-roaring FPS players who may not care to painstakingly strategize and conquer, they just want to blow crap up. As both an RTS and FPS fan, I figured I’d give it an honest appraisal, and so I watched the trailer only to fall asleep about half way through

Gah. Does any game look like more of a franchise cash-in than Halo Wars? Serious….a trumped up strategy title that plans on sucking even more money out of the dozens of devoted Halo fans who care enough to bother. Halo junkies help me out…are you actually interested in playing an RTS? Would you genre flip just to support the Halo brand?

Let us know in the poll on the right hand side of Play-Girlz.com.

If you had to describe yourself as a single video game character, who would you choose? Are you:

• Link (Legend of Zelda) — Cute, loyal, and dutiful
• Marcus Fenix (Gears of War) — brawny, resilient, and all around hard-ass
• Donatello (TMNT) — brainy, creative, soft-spoken but respected
• Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) — nimble, cultured, adrenaline junkie

As always, respondents are free to enter their own poll options, so don’t feel restricted to the choices I’ve started you off with.

We asked our readers to weigh in on whether or not they would purchase multiple copies of a piece of hardware simply because the company released the occasional “special edition” version. It’s something that I myself don’t really understand, likely because the consoles themselves are so damn expensive the first time around, and unless I had concrete plans to sell the extra one off, having two would be like making too deep a capital investment in equipment that will be obsolete as soon as the money-hungry corp giants can spit out another fantastic plastic machine.

Did you folks agree?

For the most part yes. A whopping 87% of you said outright “no”, or “probably not” in response to the question. Over half of you (54%) tagged buying multiple hardware copies for a limited edition design as “a waste of money”, while 33% of you said that you were unlikely to buy another DS/PS3/360 unless the limited edition design pertained to your favourite game.

That’s not to say that everyone was more concerned about their pocketbooks than the latest, greatest gear. There were some brave souls (11% of votes) that answered “Heck yeah!” and apparently have no problem buying up everything that the manufacturers throw at them.

One person, in what I’m going to take as a cheeky jab against gaming as a whole (Jack Thompson, I told you to stay away from my polls!), one respondent said “OF COURSE!!!! I AM AN ADDICT!!!” complete with annoying caps and multi-exclamations. Congratulations.

There was the Halo 3 bundle for the Xbox 360, the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle for the PS3, and now there are celeb sponsored versions of the Nintendo DS up for grabs. All three of the major hardware manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon, producing limited edition copies of their systems for collectors to go ga-ga over.

The question is, do you care?

A couple of scenarios to consider…if you’re a gamer that already has all of these systems, would you ever consider buying another one if a super cool custom bundle were to be released? Or, if you don’t own a particular system yet, and an attractive bundle were released for it, would it make you consider picking it up?

Is it a pure money-grubbing move on the part of the Big 3? Well duh. Everything is done to make some cash. But what I’m curious about is how the market supports this type of special release. Who buys them and why? New poll question for you then:

Would you ever buy a second copy of hardware, just for a limited edition design?

Make your mark, and vote on this topic in the right menu of Play-Girlz.com.

Image courtesy of Nintendo

Leaving it off the list of possible selections would have biased the poll to an unacceptable degree, but at the same time, is anyone surprised that World of Warcraft came out on top in the latest Play-Girlz poll, which asked:

Who Best Epitomizes Their Genre?

Over a third of you (35% to be exact) felt that World of Warcraft best characterized its genre. To call WoW a game might actually be downplaying the influence and immense reach of the Blizzard title. Phenomenon might be a better descriptor. It single-handedly exploded the MMO genre and brought not only these online games into the mainstream, but brought renewed interest from different sectors of the popular media and pop culture to the video game industry.

Hot on the heels of WoW was Final Fantasy, which 26% of respondents felt best represented a “genre definer” for its continuing, impressive grip on the scene. The franchise’s incredible stamina, identifiable characters and high profile releases have made it come to mind almost instantaneously when RPGs are mentioned.

Third up was a tie between the most well-known game of all time, and one near and dear to my 80’s child gaming heart. Receiving 10% each of all votes cast Super Mario Bros. and Doom have obviously made their mark on the Action/Adventure and FPS genres respectively.

Rounding out the list were:

• at 9% Command and Conquer (RTS) and Madden (Sports)
• at 1% Bejewelled (Casual) and EverQuest (MMORPG)

In the responses to the last poll, franchise loyalty and genre preferences played a large role in your buying decisions. So, let’s combine those and see who you think is the most iconic franchise in a given genre, and who best characterizes the qualities you love.

Here are your basic choices, feel free to add others:

• Mario Bros. (Action/Adventure) — while these games may have progressed from the simple 2D side-scrollers, there’s no doubt that the Mario Bros. crew was, and continues to be one of the most influential names in gaming
• Final Fantasy (RPG) — time after time, the anticipation for the next title in the franchise is at the rabid level within the RPG community
• World of Warcraft (MMORPG) — do I even need to say anything about this one? It’s big, real big.
• Doom (FPS) — Mixing sci-fi and legions of hellish demons, there was nothing more satisfying than squeezing that shotgun trigger. Not surprisingly, this game came under intense fire for its violence and gore.
• Command & Conquer (RTS) — I’ve lost track of what number in the series they’re on now, but it doesn’t really matter…this one is still going strong. For those who love to micromanage, and who enjoy a good war game, C&C is at the fore for RTS games.
• Madden (Sports) — Every year this title comes out and every year sports game fans are slavering hounds just waiting to pounce.
• Bejewelled (Casual) — Casual gaming exploded across all strata of the gaming community thanks in part to large portal sites and this little game that involved nothing more than matching colours. Frighteningly addictive!

Box art courtesy of EA Games.

Interesting, interesting! The current (and now ending) poll here at Play-Girlz.com asked you:

“What makes you most want to buy a new release?”

While the turnout at the polls was rather abysmal, it’s intriguing to note that not a single respondent selected television and radio ads as the hype builder and driving force behind their video game purchasing. Perhaps not surprising, given that advertisement can exert its strongest effect without a conscious acknowledgment on the part of the viewer. Or, equally as likely, advertising plays a supportive roll to other factors and helps to maintain and grow excitement about a game release throughout the long, drawn-out development process.

Just what other factors? Brand recognition seemed to be important, with 36% of respondents saying that they would buy a new release “If it’s the next game in a franchise I really enjoy”. Great news for companies who pump out sequel after sequel. Despite the grumping of critics who clamour for diversity and innovation, it looks like a good chunk of us are just looking to remain connected to our favourite characters and story lines.

Another 36% pointed out the importance of genre, stating that they would buy a game if it fit into the style of gaming that they most enjoy. Fair enough! And I dare say these people aren’t alone. A lot of us have our favourite genres, whether they be guilty pleasures (FIFA) or full out obsessions (WWI shooters), and gaming style can definitely trigger an initial interest in the title, then it’s up to the ad execs and developers to live up to your expectations.

A further 4/24 buy based on pretty things, saying that awesome looking trailers and screenshots were enough to sway your opinion of a game into the “must buy” category. The same number were influenced by stellar reviews in gaming media and the opinions of trusted video game journalists.

Image adapted from Call of Duty 4 logo, courtesy of Activision European Publishing

Despite all of the furor surrounding school shootings, re-inactment deaths, the culture of violence in today’s schools, and the incessant clamouring about violence in video games, violence isn’t even the main concern for parents in this corner of the digital entertainment industry. Scratch your heads all you like, but in spite of all the zealotry about the danger of desensitization, the number one no-no according to the parents in the WhatTheyPlay.com poll was: depictions of a man and woman having sex.

Mm hmm, you got it. Even more intriguing is that heterosexual sex, weighing in with 37% of the vote, beat out both “a graphically severed human head” (26%) and oddly, “two men kissing” (27%).

WhatTheyPlay.com actually did a whole article looking at AO video games, which I encourage you to go and read: click here.

Via | GamePolitics.com

With the end of every old poll comes the birth of a new one, so here’s one for all the marketers out there.

I want to know what makes you, the consumer, dig around in your wallet for the cash to buy a new release. What factors most contributes to your urge to buy?

Is it:

• High-scoring reviews from gaming media. They know what they’re talking about!
• Television and radio ads. They’re great hype builders.
• If it’s the next game in a franchise I really enjoy.
• Genre. If it’s my type of game, I’ll buy it.
• Sweet-looking trailer and/or screenshots.

Good news for PC Gaming! Most of you folks are either optimistic or apathetic about the future of PC Gaming, particularly relative to the army of available consoles.

Almost half of you (46%) feel that PCs are still going strong as a gaming platform, and that the stats used in this study can be a little misleading. Non-traditional modes of gaming, like casual and MMOs are keeping the platform not only alive, but healthy.

A further third of respondents (33%) didn’t really give a crap and stated that gaming was gaming. This whole platform non-sense is just drama.

Doomsday was forecast by only 13% of you, who felt that people should just leave the PC behind and buy themselves a nice shiny console to work with.

The last 8% of you thought that MMOs were the only thing that PCs had going for them. Apparently, without WoW and its massively addictive cronies, PC Gaming would be but a ghost of a memory.